Spec me a 4k Estate car

Willis

Willis

Willis

Soldato
Joined
17 Oct 2006
Posts
2,544
Location
Aviemore, Cairngorms, Scottish Highlands
As title looking to spend 4k on a estate car, thoughts so far is a Audio A4. ;)
 
I'd look no further than a BMW 528/530i estate. Infact i'm not, i am in the market for a cheap estate too. Best car for this kind of money.
 
personal preference i suppose, i seem to be one of the few people in the world who has an irrational love of big volvo's :)

That bmw does look nice though.
 
the man [jez] has a point :)

altho i wouldn't say no to a 9-5 HOT or a V70 if it's fully loaded. it really depends what you want from the car.

you could also get a Subaru Legacy twin-turbo, which has the advantage of 4wd..
 
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At that kind of budget it's going to be a manual Mk3 2.0 Deo with plenty of toys. Anything slightly prestegious at that price is going to be a money pit.
 
I too could well be looking to spend a few £k on an estate in the forseeable future. But I'm after the maximum interior size possible. Slanty rear windows are out (e.g. BMW, Saab 9-5), they limit the bit square bits of kit I can fit in.

Mk2 Mondeo estate looks bigger than the inside of the Mk3, is that right?

Am I also right in thinking an Ovlov is probably what I'm after?
 
For outright practicality and reliability you can't beat Volvos. I think the Saab 9-5 comes a close second in that respect but looks prettier.

A friend of mine has an A4 estate albeit the older shape (T Plate) and he's always complaining that it's too small. He had a J plate Saab 9000 hatch before and says he could get more in that than the A4 estate.
 
Depends on what you want from an estate and what sort of level of running costs you're prepared to incur....

If you want space, I don't think you can beat a Mondeo estate. a lot of car for the money, low running costs, HUGE amount of load space (more than an E39 estate) - this thing can swallow chests, wardrobes and other weird things that no other estate can. Only downside is the poor range of engines, particularly with the TDCi reliability issues at this price point.

E39 Estate - great car but not a great deal of load space which is narrow, high running costs at this price point, and you're not going to get the best example for £4k. Same applies with the E46 Estate with the only difference being the smaller load space.

Volvo V70 - do you really want to drive a bus? :eek:

Personally, I don't think you can beat an A4 (B6) Avant as the best all round 'prestige' proposition (provided maximum space isn't your main criterion) but you really will struggle to find a good B6 Avant for £4k - they're all going to be high mileage examples. The TDi 130 also smokes like a chimney at average to high mileages.

As for another car that might be worth considering from a 'non-prestige' manufacturer, the Honda Accord Estate with the i-CDTi engine could be a good option. Honda build quality and reliability with a decent diesel engine. Electric rear tailgate and a 'single press' lever to fold down both rear seats inc seat squabs. Only downside is that it looks a bit ugly in estate guise and load space is nowhere near as much as the Mondeo. A Mazda 6 Estate might be a cheaper alternative. The 'banger' alternative would the old C5 Estate, which is not only cheap to buy but offers a decent load area and better ride quality compared to the Audi.

Leftfield alternatives would be the 407 Estate (you can pick up late examples at auction for not very much money) or the Subara Legacy Estate. Don't have any experience of how either one of them drive or load up though.
 
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